Reviewed by TONY BAER:

   

RAOUL WHITFIELD – Border Brand. Steeger Books, softcover, August 2024. Originally serialized in Black Mask magazine, June through November 1928.

   Mac ’twas a fighter pilot in the war to end all wars. Then was a teller in a bank.

   Antonio Flores robbed the bank. And flew away with the cash in a single seater.

   Mac was the teller Flores held up.

   The bank fires Mac. Figure Mac didn’t try hard enough to stop Flores. Figure Mac was maybe in on it.

   So Mac decides to chase after Flores. Across the border to Mexico.

   There he teams up with a federal agent, name of Ben Breed.

   Breed is hell of a pilot too. And a gunner. As well as Mac and Flores. And air battles are the main action here.

   Whitfield does a nice job with the air battle descriptions, keeping me engaged though I’ve myself never been one to seek out air adventure. The other reason to read it is Whitfield’s prose. I think Whitfield maybe has the hardest, most staccato prose in showbiz. And that’s why I keep reading Whitfield and keep seeking him out. He’s a tonic. He’s spare. He’s terse. There’s no wasted word. Concision. Diamond cut. We can still learn a lot from Whitfield about how to say things briskly sans the bullshit.

   I liked it.